A FUNERAL-style wake has been tonight held by axed Corus employees to mourn the loss of the mothballed steel plant.

More than 200 former workers and their partners gathered at the Rust in Peace event in Middlesbrough.

Tommy Dring, 53, who toiled in the Redcar blast furnace for 33 years until earlier this year, said the event had been arranged to boost morale.

"We arranged the evening as we were a big family at Corus, we have known each other for most of our working lives and it is good to keep in touch," he added.

"I am just glad that most of the young men have been redeployed in the works but my heart goes out to the people who have not got jobs. I do not think we will see steelworks on Teesside again."

The evening featured a disco, buffet, karaoke and a performance of the Corus anthem Steel River which was written by local musician, Chris Rea.

Money raised from the night held at North Ormesby Institute will be donated to Zoe's Place Baby Hospice in Middlesbrough and to the youngest workers who have lost their jobs.

Around 1,700 people were made redundant when the steel plant was mothballed in February A consortium submitted an undisclosed offer to Corus to buy Teesside Cast Products at the end of March but no decision has yet been taken.